Description: In this delightful book, the author enumerates and classifies the formulas Yiddish speakers use to express their emotions--from blessings and thanks to lamentations and curses. A rarity among scholarly books, it brings joy while it teaches; it makes us smile, sometimes roar with laughter, while it develops the most rigorous linguistic argumentation.
Review Quotes: "Don't be put off by the subtitle of this incredibly witty, informative, and entertaining analysis of the linguistic subtleties of Yiddish. In using the term "psycho-ostensive," the author refers to the heavy emotional baggage that Yiddish speakers carry around with them: their language is full of linguistic subtexts that mask, obfuscate, and hide the true feelings in the heart of the speaker."--Arnold Ages, Jewish Tribune